The present invention relates to a level converting circuit for use in semiconductor integrated circuits or the like, and more particularly to a level converting circuit for reducing the amplitude, such as converting the CMOS level used in CMOS devices to the level used in ECL devices.
According to the prior art, as will be stated in detail afterwards, the conventional level converting circuit, composed of an MOS transistor, converts the high level of input signals into the positive source voltage of the level converting circuit and the low level, into a voltage resulting from the division of the positive source voltage by the sourcedrain impedance of the transistor. Such a level converting circuit, however, operates at a relatively low speed. Though the problem of the low speed in the circuit can be resolved by the increase in the current of the circuit, there arises another problem of consuming more power.